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Undaunted Courage

In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson selected his personal secretary, Captain Meriwether Lewis, to lead a voyage up the Missouri River, across the forbidding Rockies, and - by way of the Snake and the Columbia rivers - down to the Pacific Ocean. Lewis and his partner, Captain William Clark, endured incredible hardships and witnessed astounding sights. With great perseverance, they worked their way into an unexplored West. When they returned two years later, they had long since been given up for dead.

The Wild Blue: The Men and Boys Who Flew the B-24s Over Germany

The very young men who flew the B24s over Germany in World War II against terrible odds were an exemplary band of brothers. In The Wild Blue, Stephen Ambrose recounts their extraordinary brand of heroism, skill, daring, and comradeship. Stephen Ambrose describes how the Army Air Forces recruited, trained, and chose those few who would undertake the most demanding and dangerous jobs in the war.

The Supreme Commander: The War Years of Dwight D. Eisenhower

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Crazy Horse and Custer: The Parallel Lives of Two American Warriors

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To America: Personal Reflections of an Historian

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The driving of the golden spike at Promontory Summit, which marked the completion of the country's first transcontinental railroad, was only the beginning of the race for railroad dominance. In the aftermath of this building feat, dozens of railroads, each with aggressive empire builders at their helms, raced one another for the ultimate prize of a southern transcontinental route that was generally free of snow, shorter in distance, and gentler in gradients. With a meticulous, loving eye, Walter Borneman picks up where most other histories leave off....

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Killing the Rising Sun: How America Vanquished World War II Japan

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As Allied ships prepared for the invasion of the Philippine island of Leyte, every available warship, submarine, and airplane was placed on alert while Japanese admiral Kurita Takeo stalked Admiral William F. Halsey's unwitting American armada. It was the beginning of the epic Battle of Leyte Gulf - the greatest naval battle in history.

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Publisher's Summary

Nothing Like It in the World is the story of the men who built the transcontinental railroad. In Ambrose's hands, this enterprise comes to life. The U.S. government pitted two companies - the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific railroads - against each other in a race for funding, encouraging speed over caution. As its peak the work force approached the size of Civil War armies, with as many as 15,000 workers on each line. The surveyors, the men who picked the route, lived off buffalo, deer, and antelope.

In building a railroad, there is only one decisive spot - the end of the track. Nothing like this great work had ever been seen in the world when the last spike - a golden one - was driven in Promontory Peak, Utah, in 1869, as the Central Pacific and Union Pacific tracks were joined.

Ambrose writes with power and eloquence about the brave men - the famous and the unheralded, ordinary men doing the extraordinary - who accomplished the spectacular feat that made the continent into a nation.

The book is good if you are interested in history, which I am. The building of the transcontinental railroad is described in detail. The problem is the narration and sound quality. The narrator speaks softly -- barely above a whisper -- and with very little energy. He does, however, speak naturally, which is a plus. His quiet delivery is made worse by the uneven audio quality. You have to turn the volume way up to hear him, and there is a noticeable hiss which can be maddening. The delivery does not do justice to an otherwise fine book.

First of all, I think there was a change of narrators at some point, because my version was superb, while the narration offered in the sample on this page was as terrible as many earlier reviewers suggest. So, for the record, the narrator problem appears to have been fixed.

Unfortunately, the basic flaws of story telling remain problematic. I've read many works by Ambrose and have adored them all. This book fell flat for me. Thud. Just when it seemed about to get interesting, it diverged into a morass of not-so-consequential tangents that were hard to endure.

What could have been a truly fascinating book is, als ruined by the pairing of this narrator. The same man read Stephen King's Dreamcatcher, and was excellent, but this material and his style are a recipe for droning disaster. I love other books by this author, and am fascinated with railroad lore, but this was a trial to endure. Imagine endless shopping lists being read by a calm, even tone...it was a tragedy. One notable exception in otherwise excellent work from both the author and narrator.

This is a wonderful book, well researched by the renowned Stephen Ambrose. The reading or audio performance was outstanding--perfectly suited to the story--quiet, reflective, subtle. However, the content of the book was frequently redundant (as I have found in other Ambrose works) as the author repeats facts and points many times. I like Ambrose and his work--it is well researched and interesting. Moreover, Ambrose often makes salient observations that are historically significant in and of themselves. I just wish that he had written better.

Like "Undaunted Courage," this is a very entertaining an interesting book which if very well-read for audio. Ambrose deserves great credit for making history entertaining. A must for anyone interested in 19th-Century American history.

what a great recounting of one of the greatest physical accomplishments in American history. As a construction super and a farmer I have a different outlook on physical labor after reading this. ( no more complaining from me!) Makes one appreciate the easy life that we all enjoy. Was very interested in the political haggling that took place before construction began. highly recommended.

Ambrose did a great job of describing the premier engineering challenge of the nineteenth century. Building the railroad from Omaha to Sacramento with only hand tools is amazing by any standard. This book was so good I read it then listened to the unabridged audiobook. The politics and finance may be a bit tiresome for some but the adventure of the race to Promontory should make this a great read for anyone wanting a real understanding of American History. This railroad had as much to do with joining the country East to West as the Civil War did in joining it North to South. Arguably, this project had more to do with making the American nation than any other engineering achievement.

From getting wrong people doing the wrong things at the wrong time to the wrong river in the wrong state, this book is virtually worthless in terms of factual history. He has the builder of a railroad building a bridge near Buffalo. He has Lee finding someone else's battle plans in the Civil War when it was Lee's plans that were found. He has a river that is only in Nevada its entire length in several states. As an example of the poor fact-checking, the printed version has areas listed as territories that were actually states.
I listened to the book and thought I was getting forgetful when I heard the same sentences several times, but no it was true. He *did* use virtually the same paragraphs several times.

Great history, told at great pace.
The author never attempts to hide his admiration for his subjects and this book is no exception. Their achievement leaves you breathless and S E Ambrose tells the story with pace and detail.
Well written, well read.

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